You Are Invited...

by Holly Jacobs

  “Where’s he taking us?” Zoe asked in a suspicious tone of voice.

  Mattie pasted a smile on her face, hoping she conveyed enthusiasm at the thought of Finn. “Uh, I’m not sure, but...you’ll have a good time.”

  Zoe scowled. “That’s two weeks in a row. When Mom was alive, most of the time he didn’t come twice in a whole month. So why’s he coming again?”

  “I don’t know, Zoe.” Mattie tried to convince herself that it wasn’t a lie. At least not a real lie. “I’m guessing,” she continued, “he’s coming because he loves you and misses your mom as much as you all do. When people miss someone, they find comfort in being together.”

  “Why aren’t you coming tonight, Aunt Mattie?” Abbey asked.

  “I have an appointment. I’ll join you all at school as soon as I can, but Sophie and Lily both wanted to spend some time with you. And I’ll be there after,” she reminded them. Since she held out very little hope that reasoning with Finn would work, she figured they wouldn’t be missing her for long.

  “Don’t worry about coming, ’cause we don’t need you,” Zoe said with vehemence.

  “Yeah, we do,” Abbey staunchly maintained.

  What had set Zoe off this time? “Zoe, I—”

  “Don’t Zoe me. I don’t need you. We—” she swept her hand toward her siblings “—don’t need you. I heard your brother at Sophie’s party. He called you Waltzing Matilda. I asked him what it meant after you left, and he said it’s a song from Austria—”

  “Australia,” Mattie corrected without thinking. “Australia has the kangaroos and the song. Austria has The Sound of Music.” She smiled, hoping comparing kangaroos to a musical family would jolly Zoe out of her funk.

  Zoe’s intact scowl said she hadn’t seen the humor. “Whatever. Your brother said he used to sing that song to you ’cause you always leave. I remember. You’d come see us for a couple weeks, then you’d leave again. You’re gonna leave again now, too. You’re probably meeting with a travel agent tonight.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” Mattie said in her most soothing tone. “Sweetie, I’m here until you don’t need me anymore.” And as soon as the words were out of her mouth, she realized they might be a lie. If Finn had his way, she would be leaving. She wouldn’t be here.

  “We don’t need you now. Uncle Finn is taking us tomorrow. He says he wants us to live with him. I heard that, too.”

  “I don’t wanna go to Uncle Finn’s,” Abbey cried. “He won’t let me touch nothin’ in his house, and he doesn’t have no toys.”

  “Or video games,” Mickey added. “He doesn’t know nothin’ about Guitar Hero or Wii bowling.”

  “Well, I want to go to his house. I bet he’d buy me a cell phone,” Zoe said, picking up on a new complaint. “Everyone else in my class has a cell phone. I need one, too.” She crossed her arms over her chest in a defiant stance. “He’d get me whatever I want ’cause he’s, like, rich.”

  Mattie couldn’t argue that. Finn probably would go out and get Zoe a cell phone. Mattie understood the draw of having money for things, but she wanted the kids to appreciate their value as well, and not just expect to be handed whatever they wanted. “Zoe, even if I could afford to give you a cell phone or designer clothes and all the rest—I wouldn’t buy you anything and everything because you asked for it.”

  “See,” Zoe cried, “you don’t love me. So go ahead and go.”

  “You’re wrong,” Mattie assured her. “You’re very wrong. I wouldn’t buy you anything and everything because I do love you. Your mother wouldn’t have, either.”

  “Yeah, she would have,” Zoe insisted.

  Mattie shook her head. “When I was little, my brothers and I would ask for things like that we didn’t really need but wanted. And so my father made us work for them. Some of the stuff we wanted, we decided we didn’t want that badly. Some of the stuff we did, so we earned money by mowing lawns, shoveling driveways, babysitting... My dad was teaching us the difference between wants and needs. And that’s the same gift your mother would have given to you, and I’ll give you in her place. You’re right. I could put you on my cell phone plan for ten dollars a month. But I won’t. You need to save up and have the first three months ready to pay for, and we’ll go get a phone for you.”

  “It’s only ten dollars a month, so why don’t you just give it to me now? Uncle Finn would. Mom, too,” Zoe countered.

  She didn’t understand, and Mattie had to admit, she and her brothers had grumbled when they were younger. “Zoe, I spend most of my days asking myself what your mom would do if she were here. Usually, I guess. But this time, I am absolutely certain what she’d do. She wouldn’t just give you the phone, and neither will I. Not to be mean, but because I want to teach you something, like my father taught me. You want a phone...you don’t need one. And if you want it bad enough, you’ll work for it.”

  Zoe remained quiet.

  Mattie thought that was it. But after a few seconds, Zoe asked, “How am I supposed to get a job? Who hires an eleven-year-old?”

  “Mrs. Abraham down the street is getting older. Maybe she’d like to hire someone to help around the house and yard? And I bet if you talk to Colton, he’d let you come help at the farm. In the spring there are a lot of chores, some of which I’m sure an eleven-year-old could do.”

  “Whatever,” Zoe said as she stomped out of the room.

  “Do you think anyone would hire me?” Mickey asked. “Me and Ab can do stuff.”

  “You want a cell phone, too?” Mattie asked weakly, not sure she was up to battling the other two children, too.

  “Nah,” Mickey said, “but I’d like a new video game.”

  “And I want some Janey Jumble dolls.” Abbey nodded so hard her braids bounced and she shot her older brother a look that said she thought he’d hung the moon. “We’d work real good.”

  “Well, you can save your allowances, and I’m sure I can find a few extra jobs for you both,” Mattie said. Needing to put an end to the conversation, she added, “But right now, you’ve got a date with Sophie and Lily, so let’s get to homework. Okay?”

  Zoe was still stomping around upstairs, but the two younger children went to the counter in the kitchen and started on their limited homework as Mattie began dinner and downed two ibuprofens. The headache that was building was bound to get worse when she saw Finn.

  Hopefully their meeting would be quick and she could get to the school before Fun Night ended.

  But with the way her day was going, she doubted it.

  * * *

  FINN SAT AT A BOOTH in the back of Valley Ridge Diner, nursing a cup of coffee while waiting for Mattie. He resisted the urge to check his watch...again.

  She wasn’t going to be here on time, or anywhere close to on time.

  Then he spotted her, dripping wet from the rain that was thick enough to be almost snow. It was in the low forties, maybe even the upper thirties. And the wind off the lake was bitter.

  She pulled the hood of her jacket down, revealing blond hair caught up in a ponytail and saved from the worst of the weather. She hugged Hank, the owner of Valley Ridge Diner and they talked quietly for a few minutes.

  She looked concerned as she finally approached the booth.

  “What’s up?” he asked.

  “Did Hank say anything to you when you came in?” She slid into the seat across from him.

  “He said hello.”

  “Oh.” She glanced over her shoulder at the older man—hi
s friend Seb’s grandfather.

  “What did he say to you?” Finn asked.

  “He called me Juliette again. He did it on Saturday, and I thought he was being funny. But tonight, he also asked me about someone named Mark. So he wasn’t being cute about Shakespeare.” She set her wet coat next to her.

  “Did you correct him?” Finn asked.

  “Yes. And he didn’t laugh. He seemed embarrassed and tried to play it off like a joke, but it wasn’t.”

  “It seems to me Sebastian has a cousin or relation named Juliette. I think she came out here one summer.”

  “Maybe I look like her and remind Hank of her.”

  “Maybe. Sebastian had hoped to be home for the engagement party, but obviously he didn’t make it. We’ll mention it to him when he does get here.” Finn took note of Hank standing behind the counter, staring into space and felt a twinge of unease. “We’ll talk to him.”

  “Okay. I’ll tell Lily, too,” Mattie said. “As a nurse and Hank’s tenant, she may be able to offer some insight.”

  Finn sent Lily here to take care of his sister. He’d thought she’d be back in Buffalo by now, but when he talked to her at the funeral, she’d told him she was staying in Valley Ridge. She’d sat with Hank at the funeral; maybe Mattie was right and she’d know what to do.

  God, he missed his sister.

  Finn nodded. “Speaking of talking...”

  Hank came over with a cup of coffee and set it in front of Mattie. “Here you go. You all ready to order?”

  “I’m not hungry,” Mattie said.

  “Why don’t you bring us both a plate of Greek fries and burgers.”

  Hank wrote their order on a slip and walked back to the kitchen without saying anything more.

  “You’d think as a doctor you’d eat better than that,” Mattie said primly, a hint of scolding in her voice.

  Belatedly, Finn remembered Rich’s comments on Mattie and her health food and kicked himself for not choosing something more nutritional. But rather than admit that to Mattie, he said, “Once in a while it’s okay to splurge.”

  “Dr. Wallace, I suspect it might be more than once in a while for you,” she countered.

  “People in coffeehouses shouldn’t throw proverbial stones.”

  “And doctors should keep up on the latest studies that show coffee and tea, in reasonable amounts, have health benefits.” She took a deep breath and added, “But you’re right, I asked to talk to you about the kids and not about your food choices.”

  “Last week you didn’t want to talk about this. You wanted to leave it up to the courts. I’m assuming your request to talk means you saw an attorney?” he asked. Mattie nodded, and he prodded, “And?”

  She smoothed out a paper napkin that her silverware had been wrapped in and set it on her lap. “He suggested we find some way to work this out and not get the court involved.”

  “Are you going to give me custody?” he asked.

  “No. I was thinking that we could compromise?” She spit out the word as if it would leave a bad taste in her mouth. “Maybe some kind of informal joint custody? Let the kids stay here in Valley Ridge. Let them stay at their school and with their friends, and in a community that will watch out for them and love them. They can spend weekends at your place, maybe summers, or at least part of them?”

  When he didn’t immediately respond, she tossed in, “Holidays?”

  He’d hoped she’d come to her senses. But Mathilda Keith was known for many things and having common sense wasn’t one of them. “So basically, they’ll still live here. You’ll be the one in control, but you’ll throw me an occasional weekend or school break? What about when they get more involved in extracurriculars? Or when their friends have something going on during the weekend? A party or practice or whatever?”

  He remembered spending all his weekends with Sebastian and Colton. He’d have hated being dragged from his home on a regular basis. “You want them to make their home here—with you. I’d be something on the fringe. You’re basically suggesting that I leave things the way they are now. That’s not a compromise.”

  “No. Not how they are now. I want us to raise the kids together. I’m offering a...partnership. Listen, Finn, I promised Bridget I’d take care of them. She had such plans for them. She wanted them to grow up here, in a small town. She wanted them to still have the surrogate family she built for them. When I asked you to meet me tonight, I made one phone call to Sophie, and both she and Lily immediately agreed to take the kids. They’re at the school enjoying Fun Night, where they’re probably eating too much junk food and running amok with their friends. And I know that not only are Lily and Sophie on hand for them, but every parent at that school is watching out for them. I know you talked about a better education in Buffalo. And maybe there are more expensive prep schools there, with a tuition I couldn’t even begin to pay. But they’re different, not necessarily better. I know that people there care and form communities, but the kids don’t need to build a new community—they have one already. Here in Valley Ridge.”

  She took a breath, but before he could say something, she hurried on. “Compromise. Work with me. Be a part of their lives. Come here as often as you can. It’s what? An hour drive, maybe a bit more? Spend the weekends, spend vacations. Come to school events. They can come spend time with you when you want. You’ve been an hour away all these years, but they hardly know you. Let them know you, but don’t rip them away from their home.”

  “We’re going in circles, Mattie. Maybe I wasn’t around as much as I should have been. But I should point out, neither were you. And I know I should have been here with Bridge more when she got sick.” He looked at Mattie and admitted that while they’d both been away a lot as the kids grew up, when Bridget had needed someone, it was Mattie who’d thrown everything aside and come home. He felt sick all over again, knowing he let his sister down. Well, he wouldn’t let his nieces and nephew down.

  He reached across the table and put his hand on hers. “I’m not doing this out of maliciousness. I’m doing this because I honestly believe the kids would be better with me in Buffalo. They’d have more opportunities there than in Valley Ridge and—”

  “And you’d hire a babysitter to pick them up at school. And get home at what? Eight or so each night? In time to tuck them in. And what would you do when you got called to an emergency on a weekend? I’m assuming that those are calls surgeons get a lot.”

  That was Mattie, always cutting to the heart of the matter. But this time he’d come up with an answer.

  “At my office, we’ve hired a fourth partner. Ralph is getting older and talking about taking on fewer patients. Andrew and I can’t pick up the slack. So I signed the papers this week to offer another doctor a place in the practice. Erik’s young and energetic. Four of us means less on-call nights and weekends for me.”

  “But you’ll still be on call. You’ll still have late nights and weekends. The kids need someone who can be present. Working for Rich doesn’t pay a lot, but the coffee shop closes in the afternoon in time for me to pick them up. And even if Rich expands the hours, I took the job with the understanding that I was off when the kids were off. I might not be a brain surgeon—”

  He bristled. “Not brains, just surgeon.”

  Why was it that Mattie Keith made him feel apologetic about his career? Her comments about saving the world, about always wanting to win...they felt like insults. But his job was important. He did save lives, and he always wan
ted to win at each surgery. Why the hell should he feel like he should apologize for that? “Other surgeons have families and make it work.”

  “Well, that’s what I’m offering here...a partnership of sorts. We can work together. Maybe you can make it work on your own, but the kids deserve more time than you can give them. Their father walked out on them, and they’ve lost their mother. They need to feel as if they’re someone’s focus. I’ve worked a dozen different jobs—I don’t have a career. I have the ability to be there each day after school. I can be there in the mornings to see them off, and be home in the afternoons when they get out of school. We’re together all weekend.”

  “You’ll have to hire someone in the summer—”

  “No, your sister already took care of that. When she got sick, she sent them to day camp last year, and they’re all bubbling over about going again this year. And the three weeks they don’t have camp, I’m taking vacation. Rich already agreed.”

  Finn assumed he’d win custody and hire someone for after-school care, but he hadn’t given any thought to summers.

  Mattie said, “You hadn’t thought much about vacations and things like that.”

  “Yes, I have,” he lied. “That new partner, Erik, can help out more.”

  “Okay, but that still only takes you so far.”

  Someone cleared their throat, and Finn realized that Colton had come over to the table. He wondered how much his friend had heard, and felt embarrassed.

  “Hey, you two.” Colton was holding his ever-present cowboy hat. It would have looked at home in Texas, but it had always struck Finn as out of place in western New York. Colton wore his hair—well, he buzzed it, so there wasn’t much hair to speak of—very short and maintained that his hat protected his head from sunburn. However, Finn suspected Colton’s childhood love of everything Old West had more to do with it.